Here I am again. It seems like the only time I blog is to say "oh hey! I would really like to start blogging again and keep up with it". This is indeed what I am blogging about right now. Maybe I should set myself some goals. I am refusing to use the term "New Year's resolution". I wish I knew what people want to read about, or what really would reach people. I feel as if my words on here mean nothing but maybe there really are people out there who will somehow come across my blog and be touched in some way. I have a burden and a love for people, especially broken, hurting people. We've all been there. I've been there. I probably will be there again sometime in my life. I want people to see hope. Maybe even if I don't say a single profound thing, my passion can touch someone. I guess it won't if I don't write though huh? So…maybe it's time to revamp and get this thing going.

Quick, easy and gluten free!

Today I needed a quick snack so I went and through some rice noodles on to cook. Once your water boils, which we all know takes a long time if you are waiting on it, it only takes 2-3 minutes. Once cooked and drained, I through on a little coconut milk, sesame oil, soy sauce and some asian ginger garlic seasoning I picked up at the store yesterday. There are lots of good seasonings in the Asian section of Kroger. If you have a little more time, this noodle dish would be great as a bed for stir fry. Enjoy!

Today I'm being productive and healthy.

Lunch:
Avacado, tomato, bacon, fresh mozzarella and mayo on Ezekiel bread.

Next task...clean my room and start getting things ready for school.

A new life...

Here, I sit in a hotel room in the beautiful Charleston, SC. My family is engrossed in the the reality cooking show, Chopped. To be perfectly honest, I am rather absorbed in it as well. We are taking a "vacationette". However, come Saturday I will be starting a new life. It is...daunting. I have quite a conglomeration of emotions. Earlier this year God allowed me to walk through a valley that was very painful. When I wanted to get out. I wanted to get out of my hometown, out of TN, out of my painfully familiar surroundings, out of that valley. I had previously considered attending the Evangelical Institute of Greenville, SC. I made my decision and in March I received my acceptance letter. Filled with excitement, I had my chance to get out. Over the past few months my emotions have gone up and down. My heart went from wanting to run away, to being truly excited about being at EI, where I would spend two years surrounded by Christian brothers and sisters, studying the bible and creating a great foundation for the rest of my life. I was nothing but excited for several months. As the start of the school grew nearer, it started to sink in a little and the excitement turned to fear and anxiety. The past couple of days have been hard. I am in this thing now, no turning back. I know God will meet me and as hard as it will be for me when my family leaves me, I know that these two years can be the most instrumental years of my life. I believe that they will be challenging and hard at times but I also believe that I will make wonderful friends and have lots of good memories. I need to take a deep breath and go at it full force! Hopefully I will be able to keep you updated and prayers are accepted and appreciated!!!

Love

The Beatles had it about right with their song titled "Love is all you need". Ok, so ultimately we need Jesus but is said that He IS love. He is the prime example of love and sacrifice. He sacrificed His own life out of love. That is the most loving act possible. Now we also need faith to believe that. We need faith hope and love but the greatest among those is love. It's so cliche but really, if everyone loved each other we would all get along and our world as we know it would be a MUCH different place. Now I realize that there will always be hate in this world that is a far cry from perfect. However, I think Christians need to step it up in this love game. Actually that might be the issue, it's treated like a game. Christians should take it seriously and take action. We should make love an action, because it is a verb, not a feeling. We do get a feeling from love. We get different types of feelings from different types of love. Agape love a and phileo love are different and produce different feelings. I truly believe that if Christians would stop with the hate and pointing fingers and would focus time and energy on loving people then we could totally change the world. Let's start a love movement! Let's start a revolution. Love on people who openly do things you disagree with. Love on the ones who you think are below you. Love on the poor and the sick and the broken hearted. Love on those who dont seem needy at all, everyone is. Love on your friends and your family and your fellow church members. Love on strangers. Love on your enemies. Don't get me wrong here, I am NOT saying to tolerate sin. There is so much sin within the church and even our lives though, that we can not stand around pointing fingers and dropping hate.
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her"


"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV) love is where it's at. I am resolving I am resolving right now to love God and love people.

Lord Jesus please help me to love like you love. "Show me how to love the unloveable and show me how to reach the unreachable." Lord,God, give me your eyes. Break my heart for what breaks yours. Fill me with love. May it spill over in my life. Break down my pride and help me to love the ones that are hard to love. Abba, Father, papa give me Your love and may my life be pleasing to you. Amen.


Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:4-6 ESV)

Coram Deo

As Christian, our life motto should be "Coram Deo" to live before the face of God. To live in His presence. If we keep the phrase in our minds, "Coram Deo", when we are tempted to sin we can remember that we are living before God's face. We are ever in His presence and we should live holy and blameless lives before Him, instead of sneaking around and sinning. This was just something I had on my mind. Now go out and live Coram Deo!

Don't call it a comeback

Five suggestions to reaching the next generation:
1. Grab them with passion
2. Win them with love
3. Hold them with holiness
4. Challeng them with truth
5. Amaze them with God

It's not about the programs, it's not about how in tune with youth culture you can be. It's about being real, bein passionate, being loving,building relationships. It takes mature, growing Christians to produce mature growing Christians. This is what young people want. I know because I am one.

Taken from Don't call it a comeback by Kevin DeYoung and others.